


Slytherin Shades (Not Worth Trying, Why Bother Getting Up Today)

by SmolTownFangirl



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Child Abuse, Gryffindor Keith, Gyriffindor Hunk, Hogwarts AU, Hunk and Lance are best friends, Hurt Lance (Voltron), I was in a mood when I made this so now y'all get to see it, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance is sad, Langst, M/M, Multi, Slytherin!Lance, and Bi, eh, pinning Keith, the effects of child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-05-05 22:51:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14628699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolTownFangirl/pseuds/SmolTownFangirl
Summary: 'You look so inviting yet detached, in your white rimmed (Slytherin) Shades'Lance liked Hogwarts more than he liked the old magic school he went to. In hogwarts he had friends. In hogwarts he had a house that was like family. He was confident. He was happy. And then the boggart lesson happened.





	1. The pretentious drop out (And the fakers fade away)

**Author's Note:**

> All of the titles of the chapters will be from a song called "Hepburn Shades" by The Downtown Fiction.

Hogwarts was fun. It was way more fun than the magic school they had in Mexico- which Lance had opted to go to instead of the one in America. It was easier to learn the basics of magic in his native tongue and not just in a language that he was still working on.

But now he was a fourth year, and he was beaming. Things were different this year. For starters, he was going to Hogwarts which was located somewhere in the UK. Lance’s mom had been worried about it, especially since he’s be so far from home but his older brothers and sisters managed to convince her it was the best place for him to be at any time. Lance sorta agreed.

Hogwarts was enjoyable, it had bright colors, a warm atmosphere, and a kind demeanor about it. A lot of the times it as like the castle was alive- not that his old school wasn't. His old school was just a lot more… small minded? They didn't really like that he was a halfer- that his mom was a muggle and his dad was a pureblood. Hogwarts didn’t care, not really.

A lot of people thought that his house- he’s been sorted into Slytherin, a place for the ambitious, cunning, and resourceful- probably wouldn’t like him because he was, as the brits call it, a half-blood but his house just didn’t care. Slytherin had a very one track mind when it came to members of their own house. If you were loyal to one another, if you protected one another, if you created an environment that's cunning and resourceful for one another, and you would be a part of Slytherin no questions asked.

Most people constantly questioned how he got put in Slytherin- Lance was a pretty sunshiney dude. He flirted with people, smiled at people, made jokes. He had a lot of friends in every house, even if Gryffindors still found him suspicious sometimes. But Lance had a way of being cunning, a way that only a Slytherin could have. He could twists someone's words to create a different narrative, he could convince a teacher to go off lesson and talk about the things he wanted to learn, and he was very very very crafty. His ambition was unquestionable, ever since coming to hogwarts in the first place everyone had known that. He was constantly in a battle to prove himself to everyone. Constantly. His resourcefulness was legendary in itself, because at the beginning of the year, he found a way to get into the restricted section without ever stepping foot into the restricted section. (Long story.) He was undeniably slytherin in so many ways.

His teachers at hogwarts eather loved him or hated him. Well… Most of his teachers loved him. Professor Potter- the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher- never cared for him to much, but he didn’t say he hated him. He didn’t act like it either. Professor Potter however, was Lance’s favorite teacher in hogwarts and Lance constantly wanted to show that he could do well and succeed in his class.

But in this very moment he didn’t want to be even in the same vicinity as the class.

Boggarts. They were learning about boggarts.

“Class,” Professor Potter spoke, motioning to a dresser in the room, “can anyone tell me what is in this?”

Keith- Lance rolled his eyes at the prodigy of gryffindor- raised his hand, and answered when the professor motioned towards him, “A boggart sir.”

“Correct! Ten point to gryffindor,” He smiled, “Can anyone tell me what it does?”

Hunk, shuffled his feet from besides Lance and raised his hands tentatively, “It shows you your greatest fear.”

Professor Potter grinned at the shy gryffindor, “Ten more points to gryffindor. How about the spell that can counteract the effects of the boggart? Ah, yes, mister Sanchez.”

“Riddikulus is used to make the boggart turn into something amusing. But the true key to defeating it is Laughter.” Lance hopped his voice came out strong, but he wasn’t sure he could be that if today’s lesson was what he thought it was.

“Ten points to Slytherin,” the professor got somber, “Since we have gone over the motions and words for the spell, today we will be putting it in use. I will  be here to intervene if any of your fears are intense and you can’t cast the spell.”

Lance’s hair stood on the back of his neck. He was terrified of what was going to happen when he went up to battle. Professor Potter ordered the class to get into a single file line, and Lance shuffled his way to the back, gaining odd looks from everyone in the class. Usually Lance was at the top of the line, but not today. Not in this lesson.

A Slytherin student named Nyisa was up first. Professor Potter smiled at her and spoke, “Remember, have a clear image of something that could change your fear from terrifying to funny.”

And so the games began. Nyisa’s fear turned out to be a clown from an old muggle move that she saw, and she turned him into a balloon animal with a helium voice. The next student was afraid of Spider, and recreated Ron Weasley’s a spider on rollerblades trick. The class was cracking up at every single one of them. On an odd occasion, a student would get so scared that they wouldn’t be able to do it, and the professor would have to step in, but that was okay. Keith stepped up to the front of the line, and Lance couldn’t help himself from wondering about what Keith could be of.

Turns out it was a voice, whispering something that he guess only Keith could hear. But Keith looked very very shaken. But Keith was nothing if not brave, so he raised his wand, “R-Riddikulus.”

“More confident, mister Kogane.”

“Riddikulus.”

The voice that only Keith could hear from before belted out the opening notes to Tom Jones “What's new pussycat.” And despite the trembling fear Lance felt in his gut from the idea of facing his own fear, he snorted out a laugh. The class was rioting and Keith had a chuckle as well. Six more students went up there, excited for their turn. Amongst them was Hunk, who ended up unable to perform the spell at the image of his fear. One more person went. And then it was Lance’s turn.

Lance flashed a grin at Hunk as he went up, even though his hands where shaking. The entire class could tell something was up with him, and the professor frowned as the boggart took the image of a man.

The man was tall, with a sneering look on his face. He had a goatee and slightly long hair. He had the same skin tone as Lance. Lance was shaking, trembling so badly that he couldn’t remember what he was doing.

 _“So. This is what my most worthless child does? Stands there like a coward?”_ The voice seemed to come from everywhere and Lance’s vision tunneled onto his dad, _“Get up and fight boy! Get up!”_

“R-Rid-”

 _“Don’t you try that stupid spell on me,”_ His father snarled, _“I don’t care who you think you are. You aren’t a son of mine. Not when you’re the family disappointment.”_

Lance couldn’t breath. He could hear commotion behind him, but he couldn’t tell what was happening. Not while his dad was standing there, snarling at him. God Lance could practically smell the alcohol on his breath. He could practically feel his father's fist on his skin, beating him and bruising him. He vaguely heard a voice- it sounded familiar- call his name but he couldn’t move. He was petrified.

_“I should have killed you!”_

His father came running at him wand raised and Lance flinched, dropping his own wand and curling into a ball waiting for the blows. They never came, and instead a voice roared, “Riddikulus!”

He was shaking and he couldn't get up. It wasn’t safe, he knew it wasn't safe. His father- his father was there- his father was there in hogwarts. He wasn’t safe in this school, he wasn’t safe at his old school. Oh god, oh god, what if his father had gotten his Mom?

Someone was speaking to him but Lance couldn’t tell what they were saying. Someone came near him and he curled in on himself more. His arms protected the vital organs in his stomach from being pounded or stabbed. He could almost taste the magic of ‘crucio’ on his tongue as he choked back a panicked sob. He couldn't do this. He didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. He couldn’t breath. He couldn’t breath.

By the time he came back to reality, Professor Potter had cleared out everyone in the room. Not even Hunk was left- though Lance imagined he’d put up a fight over that. The teacher had brought him into his office as Lance shook and cried as he calmed down.

“Lance,” Professor Potter spoke hesitantly, “Who was that man?”

Lance looked at him, tears still in his eyes, “My birth father.”

Both of them went quiet for a bit until Lance spoke again, “I’m sorry for causing a scene in class, Sir.”

“Lance, you don't need to be sorry about that. Its okay to be afraid of those who hurt us,” Potter spoke softly, sitting down near Lance, but not close enough to be threatening. Lance appreciated the gesture, “Is he still in your life.”

“No. My oldest brother turned 17 and kicked him out. Destroyed our family’s name, but that's a good thing if you ask me.” Lance muttered into the air, staring blankly at the floor.

The professor bit his lip, “Thats good… listen, I was in a household like that once. When I was younger. If you ever- and I do mean ever- need someone to talk to, I will listen.”

Lance didn’t respond, he just kept staring at the wall. His voice found him again after a moment, “I appreciate it, professor, but right now I’m much more worried about how my classmates will react with that knowledge.”

“What do you mean?”

“Keith, for starters,” Lance’s voice was void of emotion, “Hates my guts and will probably hold this against me in the future. And let's not mention how much everyone will judge me for this.”

“Do you really think people would judge you for being scared? Of a man who obviously was abusive?”

“Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t know!”

Professor potter sighed, “Keith was the one to cast the spell. I wasn’t reacting quick enough. My own past with that made me flash back to a time when loud yells and screams and the word ‘useless’ was all I would hear. Keith… I think you need to reevaluate him. No one at Hogwarts will think less of you for this.”

“How could they not?!” Lance scoffed, “I think less of myself because of this!”

“Lance-”

“No, no, no,” Lance stood up, dusting off his clothes, “I’m sorry for shouting. I have to go.”

Like hell anyone wouldn’t judge him. And he never thought the professor would lie about Keith… Lance sighed, and made his way to the Slytherin Common rooms. At least there people wouldn’t lie to him.


	2. You can't swallow your pride (You're a glorified suicide)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance barricaded himself in his room. He refused to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof this was hard to write at the end, Just a warning, there is pretty graphic content of Lance's dad's abuse in the third to last paragraph.

Lance barricaded himself into his dorm. He refused to leave. None of the Slytherins would admit it, but they were getting worried about him. They had already made sure that Lance’s Father was not the newest gossip in school (Albus and Scorpio opted to get into a ‘fight’ that would last for a week) and that no one would remember it. 

Except people did remember it. On the second day of Lance not attending classes, a Gryffindor student named Garrett “Hunk” Uta’i had decided to camp out in front of the Slytherin’s common room when he wasn’t in class. He had gotten several dozen points removed from Gryffindor, but he seemingly didn’t care. On the fourth day, a fifth year Ravenclaw joined in- Matt, he’d beamed at the prefect when she demanded what he’d been doing. Sooner, rather than later, five more people had joined Hunk’s mission. And then the finishing blow came. Keith Kogane joined the ever growing crowd of people. 

Lance, of course, was kept in the dark about it. Slytherins were very much a pack, and they’d be damned if he got hurt at the hands of people in other houses. The only one Lance knew about was Hunk, but that was only because the Slytherins knew how much Lance loved Hunk and how much Hunk loved Lance in return. But Keith was the line. Keith would always be the line. 

Albus Potter swallowed his words and entered his dorm, “Lance?” 

Lance hummed, but made no other signs of existing. 

“Lance,” Albus said, “They’re all camped out out there. There was about seven people. Now eight. Kogane has joined there ranks.” 

“What?” Lance gave a sharp intake of breath and sat up, voice cracking from lack of use.

The boy looked terrible. Albus had known he wasn’t sleeping very well- with his constant tossing and turning, and the way he’d sit and stare into the lake at the common room as if it was the only thing he’d be alive for. But this was ridiculous. Lance was a shade paler from exhaustion, making him look sickly and quite frail. Despite the fact that he was still eating whatever his housemates could smuggle him, he looked sunken into. As if he was a ghost inhabiting a shell. Or maybe he always looked sunken- but he covered it up, with smiles, and jokes, and laughter, and an endearing annoyingness that the entire house was enamored with. Albus just didn’t wanna know if that was true. He didn’t wanna know. 

Lance’s head spun, but he stood, “What the hell?” 

Scorpius poked his head in, looking scared, “Hey uh, guys? They’re shouting really loudly. You can hear them in the common room. I think they’re going to break down the door…” 

“No seriously,” Lance groaned, eyes calculating as he made a move to walk towards the door, “what the hell is going on?” 

Scorpius glanced at his boyfriend, “Uh… Albus? You wanna explain or should I?”

“You go ahead,” Albus muttered, eyeing the blanket pile that smelled like salt and chocolate, “I’m gonna clean this up.” 

Scorpius nodded, “Alright, so, you know how Hunk decided to camp out of the common until you came back to class?” 

“Yeah..” 

“Well…” Scorpius dragged his hand across his arm, a nervous tick him and Lance shared, “More people have joined him in the hall. And a few days ago Keith joined them. And he seems pretty upset-“

“What the fuck is going on?” Lance sighed, “No seriously, why does Keith care? Why does anyone care! These people aren’t my friends! Hell! I’m not sure even Hunk is my friend! God!”

“This is why we didn’t tell you,” Scorpius’s voice was soft, “Well… why I didn’t tell you. Cause I knew you’d start doubting this stuff. Come here sit down I’ll explain in detail…”

He dragged Lance to sitting on a chair. Lance vaguely heard shouts, coming from the entrance, but he ignored it. He nodded at Scorpius to continue. 

“When you were in Harry’s class- the boggart one- we- Me, Albus, and Mark- were all terrified. You had never mentioned it but you have nightmares. The same kind that Albus says his dad has. About the people who raised him. But- it didn’t really sink in. When the boggart shifted into that man-“ Scorpius’s eyes stung at the idea of what the boggart said to Lance, but he held strong, “we were terrified. Really really scared. And it all happened so fact and next thing we knew you were on the ground and Keith Kogane had banished the boggart. We were kinda shocked- Kogane never seemed to like you much, why would he help you? We didn’t really question it, because you were hyperventilating and by that time, Kogane had you in his arms, calling your name and trying to get you to calm down.” 

“He couldn’t. No one could. You must’ve blacked out or something, because you weren’t responded you were just curled up on your stomach. Albus eventually got Harry to snap out of the episode he was in, and Harry took you to his office. We stayed outside. Me, Albus, Mark, Kogane, and Hunk. And by the time that you had gotten out of it, we were being escorted to headmistress Mcgonigal's office by Neville- er, professor Longbottom. You were gone when we came back. And then when we found you in the dorms… you were responsive but distant. As if you were repressing everything. Albus asked his dad if that ever happened to him, and his dad said yeah, and it’d be best to bring you food and water and let it pass. But word got out, I guess. Hunk waited two days before he started camping out in an attempt to see you. And then everyone else joined.” 

Lance licked his lips, running a hand through his hair, “That still doesn’t explain Kogane…” 

“I can’t explain Kogane to be honest,” Scorpius shook his head, “by all accounts it doesn’t make sense.” 

Lance sighed, standing up again, “Well.. guess we go face the masses…” 

“You don’t have to if you dont want to.” 

“You’re right, I don’t have to, and I sure as hell don’t want to,” Lance sounded stronger than he looked, “But I should go out there. At least to try to get them to leave.” 

Lance was panicked if he was honest. He didn’t want to deal with the confrontation that always came after people finding out about his home life. They always pitied him. Always. And Lance didn’t like pity. Pity meant that you were weak, and everyone else realized it. But more so, the underlying fear behind everything was grasping him that, well, maybe they realized he wasn’t good. Maybe they saw him for how awful and worthless he really was. He knew Albus, Scorpius, and Mark wouldn’t see him like that. Neither would the rest of his house- after all, Slytherins are a loyal breed- but what about the rest of them? What happens when they realize how disgusting he is? How shameful he is? 

What if they realize how worthless he was? 

He could picture it. They would pity him for a few days, but then they’d realize. They all would. They’d realize that his father was right. Even about the stuff that they didn’t know about. His father was always right about him, and Lance knew it. Everyone at his old school knew it too.    


When he first came to Hogwarts he was floored. Everyone was so open about things like sexuality and gender and preference. He thought he could fit in and be happy and be normal. He got sorted into Slytherin and made the greatest friends he ever had. He got to meet the boy who lived! Hell, he was friends with his son. He thought he could be happy. 

But of course, happiness never lasts. And this was just the beginning. His father… his father would hear about this. He was friends with very powerful people in all of the wizarding communities, even with the black spot on his reputation that was his family. He would hear about this and find a way into his life. 

After all, Lance thought, Like Father like Son. 

He rubbed his arm, looking at Scorpius, “I’m going to go face the masses. You should tell Albus that trying to clean up my blanket pile is a useless and fruitless effort.”

Scorpius gave a mock salute, “Godspeed, Lance, godspeed.”

Lance walked to the door where the noise was loudest. He opened the door. 

“Come on! We just wanna see him!” Keith Kogane was shouting at the prefect, Lotor Zark’on.

“See who, mullet?” Lance leaned against the entrance, hands shaking. 

Everyone’s heads whipped towards him as if seeing a ghost. They just stared at him, taking in his dark bags, pale skin, and ruffled hair. He realized he probably should have changed out of his pajamas if he wanted to make a good impression, but it was to late now anyway. The odd number of people let out a collective sigh of realise, and Hunk looked on the verge of tears. Keith was staring into his soul, but Lance refused to break eye contact. 

“Lance….” Keith’s voice was full of an emotion that Lance couldn’t recognize (or maybe he just didn't want to recognise it. He wasn’t going to let himself dwell on that.) 

Lance was plummeted into a hug, as Hunks strong arms wrapped around him as he bawled, “I’m so sorry, Lance! I wanted to help- but- I’m not good at the spell and- I-” 

“Hunk, buddy,” Lance smiled warmly at him, “I promise you its okay.” 

“But-”

“Hunk, I love you, but this is a lot. You did all you could and that's okay. Thank you for trying to get me out of my room.” 

Keith frowned, “Lance, you should kno-” 

“Mullet, thank you. Everyone has told me that you were the one that cast the spell. Thank you.” 

He turned to the rest of them, “Honestly though, what were you guys thinking? Camping out here at night, trying to get me to come out. You’ve all lost your houses a lot of points! Wait..”

Lance smiled, “Thank you for putting Slytherin in the lead!”

Everyone laughed, hearty and good. It seemed to them that Lance was going to be okay. Lance was making jokes, and he was here, and he was real. That alone meant the world to every single one of them. Keith and Hunk exchanged a glance while the others around them chuckled. Lance wasn’t okay, clearly not. Yet he was treating the situation like a joke… Maybe to him it was a joke. Just like how he viewed everything else. Keith could feel himself getting mad, but tried to rein it in. He was mad at himself, because he couldn’t calm down Lance, but now he was just mad at everyone. Even Lance. Did Lance really not care about himself so much that he would choose to make jokes and cover up his pain instead of confining in them- his friends??

Keith turned on his heel and left. Lance tried not to think about why that hurt so much. Instead he turned to Hunk. 

“No, but seriously, you shouldn’t have camped out like that. I needed some space and time, and I’m lucky that the rest of my house realized that.” Lance started, voice soft, “I appreciate the gesture, really. But I just needed some time and then I’d be fine. Besides it's not like I’m behind on my studies. Professor Longbottom has made sure that I got every assignment from every class, ya know?” 

Hunk had the decency to look ashamed in himself, just a bit, “Yeah but… you weren’t in class and I got worried.” 

“Its okay, it really is. But was it worth losing so many house points just to stay out and wait for a friend to respond?” 

“Yes.”

Lance was quiet for a bit before responding, “Whatever floats your boat. Now, I’m going to go take a shower my dudes.”

Lotor turned to him, “You wanna use the prefect bathrooms?” 

“Don’t I always Lotor?” Lance chuckled at him, throwing a good natured wink. 

The crowd dispersed and Lance went and got a fresh set of clothes. He made his way down to the prefect bathrooms. His hands were still shaking. 

He tried not to think about everything going on as he sank into the hot water. He failed on that regard. He knew what was going to come after this. People would start asking questions about what his home life was like- teachers would. Then that spurr rumors. Then his father would find out- if he didn’t already know. He should probably write a letter to his family, detailing what happened. But his mom was so stressed lately and well.. Lance wasn’t going to burden her. But Lance was a burden, a nasty little voice in the back of his head whispered, Lance had always been a burden.

He could remember it so clearly, the first time his father had called him that. Maybe there was just to much firewhiskey in his veins for him to decipher from a son and an enemy, but it didn't matter. He remembered the first strike on his skin, leaving a bruise so large that he couldn’t cover it up. He remembered the ensuing beating that followed as his father swung a vodka bottle at his head, shattering a part of it into his skull. He remembered the insults that carved into his flesh. He remembered the first time his father used Cruciatus on him.

But he remembered a time before that when his father was good. Gentle. When he loved his mother, and took Lance to go see a no-magos baseball game with his older brothers. What hurts is that Lance would never see it coming back then, when he was five. He’d never see it coming. He’d never see the blow coming from fists that taught him how to catch like a no-magos boy. He’d never see the sneering insults in his father's laugh. 

Lance let the tears blend into the water. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes this did not have enough Langst but Imma post it anyway. Hit me up on tumblr @LovelyLangst!!


	3. So if the Black mirror burns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance didn't know what to expect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear lord, this chapter is absolute shit. It just is. Still hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Trigger warnings, child abuse, mentions of child abuse, and panic attacks.

To be honest, Lance didn’t know what to expect. Things had been weird since his brother kicked his father out, because even though he was gone, he was so far from gone. Even when he wasn’t in control of their lives, of their hopes, of their dreams anymore he still was. Because his father had the money. While his family had created a black stain on his name, it would look even worse if his dad were to divorce his mom. So in the eyes of the wizarding law, his parents were still legally married. 

But this also meant that Lances entire family was tied to his name. No matter if they were something he was proud of or not, they were. And names travel. He heard the whispers in the hallways as he walked when he first arrived. Everyone knew Marco Sanchez. The embastador between the Britain and Latin American Ministries. Everyone knew the kind of power he held. 

But now everyone knew that he was awful and cruel. No doubt some of the students had already told their parents. Hell, Rose Weasley came up to him and asked if he wanted her to get her mom to fire his dad. It also didn’t help that Harry Potter knew. 

He’d been back in classes for a week, and the professor was treating him fairly normal. Except not normal at all. Instead of the annoyed demeanor he got around Lance before, the professor seemed to be trying to relax and calm down around Lance. As if them both sharing an awful home like as kids made them have something in common. It didn’t. Honestly it just made Lance feel worse. 

Every other teacher had been walking on glass around him- with the exception of professor longbottom who, in Lances opinion, was probably the best person in the world. He didn’t treat Lance any differently, and openly chided him when he  was messing around in class. It was honestly relaxing to be in a class that was treating him like he was normal and not like he was a breakable glass doll. 

Keith hadn’t looked his way since the day he got out of bed. He tried not to let it bother him. And since when did Kogane become Keith? He supposed he’d always kind of though as Keith as Keith and just switched back in forth between the two. Which was weird, because Keith hated his guts- or at least Lance thought he hated his guts. He didn’t wanna think about it. About him. Not when he could smell the electricity coursing through his veins. Something was gonna happen today and he was scared. 

He had awoken and known he would be hearing from his father today. Despite the beautiful morning- He’d gotten blackmail on his favorite couple because they fell asleep in Albus’s bed again. Mark had rolled his eyes and told them to stop being so sappy. Everyone ignored him.- Lance could feel in his gut that something bad was coming. His brother had said- when his father had first started hitting them- that if he did it enough that their extincts  would grow to adapt for that. It still wasn’t enough to prepare him for the owl. 

The sweeping, huge, black owl was enough to strike fear into some of the more timid students at Hogwarts. But lance would know that particular bird anywhere. It was his father’s owl, Heratail. 

The letter was dropped in front of him, much to most of his tables curiosity, and the bird crooned at Lance before flying away. His breath caught in his throat as he observed the simple, clean, white envelope with the Sanchez family crest on it. His hands shook. He couldn’t tell what was going on, but he vaguely registered the concern than surrounded the people around him. 

He grabbed the letter and excused himself to the nearest empty classroom. 

He opened the letter, and the strong scent of alcohol was on it, as if half a bottle had been dumped on it. His hands shook so bad he had to sit down. He read the letter. 

_ Lance Sanchez,  _

_ How dare you attempt to make a fool of me with that stunt. You ungrateful, unworthy, brat. You tarnish my good name and reputation. You ruin everything. You ruined our family, with your constant whining and stupidity. I wonder if your brothers realize how worthless you are yet? They always were smarter, more clever. But not clever enough. No none of you were good enough. Especially you. If it was up to me, I would have had you killed for being the weakest in our family.  _

_ But even the weakest link has to stay, apparently. I hope you realize that I will not rest until you cannot sully my good name any more. You know who I am, boy, you know what power I hold. You know I could rip your friends apart in one blow if I wanted to. Pray that i decide not to, Lance. Because they will see you for what you are. Weak. Vulgar. Filth. _

_ Did you really think you could get away with that move you pulled in Potters class? Did you really think you could get away with telling The-Boy-Who-Lived anything? You’re a fool. They don’t care. Soon enough they will see I did what I had to do. I always have. Because you are not anything. You aren’t worth anything. You never have been. From the moment you were born I knew you’d be worthless and useless to our family. You’re no better than a filthy no-magi. I hope you recognize that you would be better off dead than breathing. We’d all be better off with you dead. In fact you should just kill yourself and do us all a favor, boy.  _

_ I’m appalled at you, Boy, you brat. You defy the one rule I gave you- DO NOT RUIN ME. AND YET YOU DO RUIN ME. I SWEAR IF I HEAR ANOTHER WORD OF YOUR DISOBEDIENCE I WILL BREAK YOU. I WILL TORTURE YOUR MIND UNTIL THE VERY MOMENT YOU WILL NOT QUESTION ME EVER AGAIN. YOUR UGLY WENCH MOTHER WILL GET WHAT'S COMING TO HER IF YOU DON’T BEHAVE.  _

_ ARROGANT, STUPID, WORTHLESS BOY. DON'T YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?! THIS WAS YOUR CHOICE! YOU CHOSE TO PUT YOUR MOTHER IN DANGER WITH YOUR STUPID PLOY TO DRAG ME DOWN TO YOUR LEVEL! YOUR WHORE MOTHER WILL BE BEATEN FOR THIS, I SWEAR IT- _

There was more to the letter but Lance couldn’t read it. He couldn’t read anything as he scrambled away from the paper, hands clutching his hair as he remembered the brutal sting of curses that were thrown at him. Of the damage a fist with a ring on it could do- and oh god, he threatened his mama! Oh god, his poor, beautiful mama. No, no, he can’t hurt her. She was so good to everyone. She was so stressed. And yet his Father treated her like shit and now she was going to pay for his mistakes. 

He let out a heart wrenching sob as bit his lip in an effort to stay quiet but he was terrified. The shaking had increased and his arms had been burning he’s been rubbing them so hard. He collapsed onto the ground, letting a Yelp in pain as he curled up, knowing that his mama was going to be hurt because of him. Everyone was always hurt because of him. His father was right- god his father was right. 

He was nothing. 

He was useless. 

He was  _ worthless. _

“Oh my god..” A voice breathed, “Lance?” 

He curled in on himself, sobbing, as the person came closer. He wanted to tell them that they shouldn’t be here- he was a curse, and awful horrible curse, didn’t the person understand, didn't they understand that he was worthless, didn’t they understand his mama was going to be hurt because of him- but he couldn’t. He could only sob. 

“Hey Lance, can you- uh- can you breath for me?” 

He shook his head, one head going to his hair the other to his stomach. The punch was coming he just knew it. He let out another sob. He banged his head against the floor as he desperately tried to function but he couldn’t, oh god he couldn’t. 

“Hey, hey, don’t do that. It gonna be okay Lance, I promise you, you’re going to be okay.” 

But he wasn’t. He wasn’t going to be okay. He was going to be left alone and broken in an unforgiving and uncaring world, with his mama hurt or dead because of him- 

“Can you- uh, oh god uh- concentrate on my voice, Lance?” 

He couldn’t- he couldn’t- 

“What your dad said in the letter.. I promise it’s not true. You’re not worthless.” 

Lance couldn’t tell if he was talking or not, but he was screaming inside his head, “I’m worthless, god I’m fucking worthless! I’m a piece of shit! Mi madre, ay Dios mío mi madre, Dios no, no mi madre! ¡No la lastimes, por favor, por favor!”

He dug hands in his hair and he tensed, crying out, “Please don’t hurt me!”

But the person just shushed him, humming and running their hands through his hair. Lance relaxed a bit after a good five minutes of hyperventilating, realizing that this person wasn’t going to hurt him.  He let out a shaky sob, and started to cry. 

“He threatened my mother,” he sobbed, “my poor, innocent mother. All because I’m a fucking mistake. I’m an awful worthless mistake! God he was right I should just kill myself.” 

“Lance,” Lance knew that voice where did he know that voice, “don’t- god- don’t ever talk like that. You- you shouldn’t kill yourself. You’re worth too much to everyone. Worth to much to me.” 

Keith. That voice was Keith. Meaning that the person was Keith. The panic cams back twice as strong, and he let out another broken sob. 

Why the hell would Keith lie to him about being worth a lot. He wasn’t worth a lot. He was worthless. Everyone knew he was worthless. He was a worthless stupid child with no reason to live. No one wanted him to live anyway, no one wanted him to survive. Why the fuck would Keith lie to him? 

He took a strangled breath, and a fresh round of tears wound up in his eyes. They flew down his face like a flash flood, and he could taste blood in his mouth and he flinched at the metallic taste. He hadn’t realized he’d been biting his lip. He curled onto his side, head somehow finding its way to Keith’s lap. God. He was such a fucking idiot. Of course Keith would lie to him. Of course he would. But even when Keith was lying to him, even when Keith hated him, Lance would find himself getting lost in Keith. 

He finally admitted it. The thing that had been haunting him all year.

But instead of saying anything he just choked out, “Don’t lie to me Kogane-“ 

“Never! Lance I’d- you know I’d never lie to you.” Keith was struggling to keep his voice soft, and Lance found a little comfort in that, “Not about this. You don’t deserve to die. We’d all be miserable without you, please believe me. I know I’m not very good at comforting people but please, I swear to you I’m not lying.” 

And yet Lance still felt like he was being lied to. He choked out another sob and he curled into himself and into Keith’s lap. Blood was flowing from his mouth because of the cut he’s given himself there, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, not really. He just wanted to not be lied to. Not by Keith. 

Someone must of entered the room, because the door opened, and soon the panicked voice of Albus Potter ring out, “Kogane?! Lance! god are you two all right?! What happened?!” 

Lance didn’t answer, in favor of curling in on himself tighter and releasing another sob. Albus fucking Potter. Albus fucking Potter knew- there was no way he wouldn’t tell his father. No way that Albus wouldn’t expose his father for the evil vile man he was. Now his mom was going to get beaten, and probably his sisters and everyone and god he wasn’t worth it- his father was right about him, and he couldn’t breath, he couldn’t breath, he couldn’t breath. He slammed his head onto the ground as he started to panic. 

The darkness came with the sinking feeling of being worthless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, hit me up on tumblr @LovelyLangst!!


	4. Let My Reflection Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He would heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FGDHSKAGFDSLJFVBDJLFA;HNFJDSKLVBJKAGBJFDKLAQ 
> 
> Trigger warnings: Graphic abuse, Graphic abuse mentions, Lance gets hit multiple times. 
> 
> This chapter was a hell to write. Either way, let it be known, that this Chapter is dedicated to my friend- Ky, Why-not-langst-haha-kill-me on tumblr- because I had given up on it and they convinced me to stay in it. It is also dedicated to "No-I-didnt-notice-im-short" on tumblr as well. I love you guys.

Lance jolted awake. He wasn’t exactly sure where he was, but the bed was soft and he was too warm. The red accents around the room made him think of cinnamon. Red accents meant Gryffindor though, so he was somewhere safe. Ish. Depends on what was happening. He recalled the events of the day before as he stood on shaky legs. It was always awful when he had panic attacks. 

So. Keith had talked him down from a panic attack? Lances head split into a migraine as he thought about that. Keith didn’t like him. Keith had always hated him. But… had he? Lance didn’t wanna think about that. Not now. Not with the looming threat of the letter over his head. He took a step towards the door shivering. It was cold outside. Late February and there was still snow outside, swirling in the night. Despite the warmness of the bed, he felt it leach out of him as he got closer to the door. 

Keith and Scorpius were talking loudly in the common room as Albus and Hunk stared at the letter. The four of them looked like a disperfect harmony. Lance briefly wondered were Mark was, but he honestly doubted that any of the four would tell him if they didn’t get the ok from Lance first. He glided down the stairs, so silent that no one noticed him. 

“We need to tell the police!” 

“You read the threats, Keith,” Scorpius threw his hands up, “If we tell the police both Lance and his family will get hurt!” 

Keith practically growled at him, “That bastard can’t do anything if he’s in fucking Azkaban!” 

“You really have no idea how this will go down, do you?” Scorpius scoffed. 

“Fucking educate me, Malfoy!” 

“Alright,” Scorpius spike in a tone Lance had never heard him speak in. It was cold and distant. Different from the warmness that he associated with Scorpius, “You wanna know how it’s gonna go? Fine. He’s going to get off scot free no matter how guilty he is. Do you want to know why?! He’s rich! He’s powerful! He’s got the power in this equation! Look at what happened to my grandfather- he got away without facing his horrid crimes. Why? Cause he was loaded!” 

“What,” Keith snarled loudly, “Like your death eater father?!” 

“Don’t you ever fucking call my dad a death eater! He was feeding information to the resistance the whole time and you know it!” 

“So what?!” Keith roared, “So we just let Lance's father get away with this shit?!” 

Scorpius sighed, sitting down and curling into Albus’s side, “As much as I want to help, we can’t. You know we can’t. If we try he’ll get off free and get Lance even more hurt.” 

“He’s right, you know.” Lance's voice carried over the room like a whisp. 

He looked horrible. He didn’t look like the charming boy he usually was. He was a sickly shade, and he had black bags under his eyes. Tear tracks from his panic attack earlier. Lance honestly didn’t want to know how he looked. He knew he looked like a ghost. 

“My father is a part of the Latin American Ministry, you know,”  Lance spoke quietly, coming to a stop in front of the four boys. The fire silhouetted his face as he continued, “But first and foremost,  he practically runs the branch that's in charge of Cuba. Even if they think they’re in charge, my father uses a lot of things to prove they’re not. They’re the puppet, but he’s pulling the strings you know. As long as he has a reputation. My family might’ve been a black mark on his reputation, but he didn’t divorce my mom to save it. He’d do anything to save his reputation. Anything he promises in that letter is the truth. Anything he said in that letter is the truth.”  

“That's not- Lance you know that's not true-“ Keith got up, standing in front of Lance with a timidness Lance didn’t know Keith had. 

Lance smile a sad smile, “Yeah it is Keith. I know myself- and I can recognize a lie when I lie when I see one.” 

“But,” Keith grabbed Lance's shaking hand, “If you can recognize lies, then why did you say I was lying when I told you that-” 

Lance didn’t want to deal with this, not with the dread of the letter hanging over his head. Not while his friends were staring at them as if they  were a new story that everyone wanted to hear. Not now, and not ever if he was honest. He took his hands out of Keith’s reach. 

“Because you were.” 

His voice was soft enough that it didn't come out loud, and yet, it was the loudest thing in the room. Even the cackle of the fire seemed to be silent for the moment between the two boys. Lance sighed, not having enough energy to make a joke. Keith looked like he wanted to speak, but when he opened his mouth no words came out. 

Lance smiled, sad and bitter, “It’s okay. I would’ve lied too-“ 

“I’m not! Lance! I’m not lying!!” 

Lance just sighed, as if all the energy was drained out of him. Keith looked on red and shaking before he spoke, 

“I’m not lying because I’m in love with you! I’m not lying when I say that nothing that your dad said wasn't true! Goddammit Lance you’re the best person I’ve ever known! I’m constantly so flustered around you that I can barely think because you’re amazing! Nothing that your dad said was true and I know it because I’m so desperately in love with god dammit!” 

Lances head spun with the revelation as he took a step back. What? What the fuck? Keith had never even been nice to him before, let alone fucking liked him! Keith had- but had he? Had he really antagonized Lance like that? Lance… Lance didn’t know if he had. Looking back on it… everything Keith had ever said or done could be summed up with the awkwardness that came with having a crush on someone. 

So maybe Keith didn’t hate him- but- that wasn’t- Keith would like someone like him. He wouldn’t. So why the fuck would he say that. Lance head swam as he took a step back from Keith. 

Out of all the times for Keith to reveal his secret feelings, did it have to be the month where everything’s gone to shit? Did it have to be one of the only times he was overwhelmed to all shit? 

His hands shook and he looked Keith in the eye, “Keith.. what the- I can’t- this is to much.” 

He bolted, charging out of the Gryffindor common room as he panted. Head still swimming as he processed what his body was doing, he just kept running. He didn’t- this was all to much. The boggart. The letter.  _ Keith _ . It was way to much. It was all too much. 

By the time he reached the owlery he was out of breath and forcing down a sob. 

This was awful. Keith… Keith chose the worst moments to spring something shocking on him. If lance was being honest, he didn’t know how he felt about the revelation. Not really. It wasn’t like Lance didn’t like Keith- he did. Even if he didn’t want to admit it sometimes he did. So it wasn’t that. It was just. God the timing. Lance was barely functioning and Keith just sprung it on him like that. This entire month was shit. Everything about this was shit. 

The owlery was surprisingly quiet, despite the many wide awake owls. They didn’t hoot or crow they just watched Lance with big curious eyes. Lance sighed, shifting as he sat trying to calm himself down. He couldn’t deal with another panic attack. He really really couldn’t. Yet he felt one coming on as he locked eyes with a bird. 

Black as the night around it, large in stature, with white eyes. That was Heratail. Why- why was Heratail there. His mind was as frozen as his body. He couldn’t process this. Heratail wasn’t one to stay places away from his Father when the owl wasn’t delivering mail. 

“Good. You’re here. I thought I would have to track you down in this godless place.” 

The voice whispered over Lance like a cold fear in the midst of danger. A sinking feeling raised in his stomach as he snapped his head to his left. 

His father was tall, about the height Lance would be when he finally stopped growing. He was tall, and with no light, he looked slightly like a demon. His brown eyes looked almost red with no actual light on them, and he was wearing a suit. Something that showed his power and status. He was probably in England for a diplomatic meeting. But here he was, standing in front of Lance. 

“We have much to talk about, boy,” his Father growled, “your constant disobedience can’t go on any longer. You let other people read the letter.” 

Lance didn’t make a sound, but could feel his heart rate rises as he stared at his father. How the fuck did he know that Keith, Albus, and presumably Scorpius had read the letter?! 

“You forget,” he took a step toward Lance, “I have eyes and ears everywhere. And you-“ 

He spat at Lance, but Lance didn’t slow himself to shake despite the panic he felt. He couldn’t. 

“-have been a disgrace to me. So this will be your punishment.” 

The first blow was always the worst. When you get hit long enough, you become numb to it. But the first blow you’ll always feel because you don’t really expect it. Even when you do. That’s how Lance felt when the boot crashed down onto his knee. 

He helped as his father dug his heel into Lances knee snarling at his son. The cane his father usually walked with swung and Lance knew better than to fight back. The hit landed on his chest and he felt the air get knocked out of him. His hands were shaking but he wouldn’t panic as his father hit him. 

This was his punishment and he was going to take it. He was going to. The blunt side of the cane caught him in the eye, and his vision blurred. Something red came trickling into it, but at that point Lance couldn’t see well enough to care. 

“You! Vile! Filthy! Wretched! Boy!” His Father snarled punctuating each word with a hit on Lances chest, “Fight back you coward!” 

His father drew his wand and Lance flinched. He knew what was coming. 

_ “Crucio!” _

His entire world was stars as he screamed. He knew he shouldn’t have- after all that just made things worse in the long run- but it’d been a while since he was under the effects of said spell. His father used his wand to torture him, all the while crushing his knee. 

He could smell the metallic scent of blood, taste it in his mouth. His screams were muffled by the blood no doubt dribbling out of his mouth with the amount that came forth. His father passed the spell for a brief moment. 

For the briefest moment Lance thought he was going to stop. Lance thought that his father realized that this was his youngest son. The young son he once took to baseball games, the young son he once played catch with, the young son he taught how to ride a broom. 

But the moment was gone. Just like the moments where his father was good, the moment was gone. His father cast the spell once again, and pain flared in all of his senses. He let out a brutally loud scream and his father chuckled. 

Someone else let out a shout. 

The pain stopped as his father let go of his wand as he was tackled to the ground. Lance struggled to sit up as he spit blood out of his mouth. His stomach felt on fire and he was still seeing red in his left eye. But he watched in complete awe as Harry Fucking Potter punched his father over and over again. The owls were losing their shit at this point and Heratail, ever the indifferent, looked on as their master got hit. The entire castle must have heard the hooting. And the screaming. 

Lance realized with dred that the professor wasn’t the only one who heard it. Professor Longbottom and Headmistress McGonagall camestorming up the steps of the Owlery. Lance honestly didn’t  want to know what the sight must of looked like. 

The next few moments were a blur. He remembers Professor Longbottom and Headmistress McGonagall detaining his Father as Professor Potter checked on him. He thinks he answered some questions for the professor, but he honestly wasn’t to sure of anything. He thought someone might have carried him to the nurse but he wasn’t sure who. 

That’s where he woke up. The infirmary. It was warm and it smelled like his mom's cooking for some reason. Keith and Hunk were on one side of the bed and Albus, Scorpius, and Mark where on the other. All four of them seemed to be lost in their own world. The boyfriends were leaning on each other hands intertwined, seemingly in their own world. Mark was signing away at Hunk- something Mark usually did when he was nervous. Revert back to sign language. And Keith.. Keith was studying his hand. He was tracing over the lines in his palm as if they were the most important thing in the world. 

Lance coughed, “What happened?” 

The five boys jolted heads shifting to Lance in a shock. Hunk was the first one to speak, “Oh my god! You’re awake!” 

Mark jumped out of his chair, “I gotta go get Madame Promfy- she’ll need to check on you- but don’t you dare think that we’re not gonna have a long talk about this in the dorms Lance Eduardo Sanchez!” 

He ran off, and Hunk continued babbling about how he thought Lance was never gonna wake up. Scorpius has started holding his hand at some point while tying not to cry and his more stoic boyfriend looked about the same as his hand rested on Lance’s shoulder. He head was swimming. He focused on the feeling of Keith’s hand in his. 

“Alright, Alright,” he grinned at his friends, though it kind of hurt, “As much as I love you guys, you do need to tell me what happened.” 

His voice got quieter as he remembered it. The entire night. 

“My dad brought you to the infirmary after your father snuck into Hogwarts,” Albus’s voice was soft- a tone that was probably only reserved for Scorpius and Lily Luna. And now Lance.

Hunk interrupted whatever Albus was about to say after that, “You’re fathers been arrested! And he’s going to face trial in the UK since he was on the UK’s property! Your mother is here by the way- as well as your older siblings- they all came the second they heard! But right now I’m pretty sure they’re testifying of something similar- I’m not really sure what’s all going on in the legs side of things but-“ 

“Hunk. Buddy. Breath.” Lance's voice was lighter with the knowledge that his Father was arrested. 

His shoulders sagged in something akin to relaxation. The stress of the past month was over. He’d won. He’d gotten out alive. His family was safe and his father was gone. Or he would be. Maybe he would be. He still held a lot of influence and power… but he was gone for the moment. And for the moment that was good enough. 

His eyes wandered to where Keith was playing with his fingers. 

He glanced at the other three friends in the room. He smiled at them softly, “Hey um, can you give me and Keith the room?” 

Keith looked up upon hearing his name. The three asked to leave shuffled out with nothing more than a hushed whisper amongst themselves. 

“Lance..” Keith’s voice was so unlike Keith, “I’m- I thought you were going to die.” 

Well that wasn’t what Lance was expecting. 

“There was so much blood coming out of your mouth when they got you to the infirmary. I thought you were going to die of blood loss. God I’m such an idiot. I just, i sprang that on you like an asshole after everything you’ve been through! And you don’t- you don’t even like me like that and I know that!” 

“Keith,” Lances voice was quiet but still happy, “I do like you like that. I promise.” 

Keith stared at him, wide eyed. 

Lance smiles at him- one of his smiles that was reserved for the people he truly loved, “I thought you hated me! I was super mad at myself for a long time cause I had a crush on someone who didn’t like me back. And I’m not going to lie, I would like to try a relationship with you.” 

“However,” his voice became serious, “You have to understand that this won’t go away. The shit I’ve dealt with won’t go away just because I’m in a relationship. You also gotta understand pulling that on me like that was an awful move.” 

Keith nodded. 

“So um,” Lance said, “We can try a date or two, and see what happens from there.” 

“Lance, I would love to.” 

The two boys sat in each other company, holding hands until Madame Promfy came to check over Lances injuries. 

Maybe he wouldn’t be better then. Not even close. But eventually he would get there. And lance had a sneaking suspicion that Keith, the entire Potter family, Hunk, and Scorpius, would gladly help him along the way. This wasn’t a battle he had to fight on his own. He would heal, because all wounds did over time. Even if they reopen, they would heal. 

Lance was going to heal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always you can find me on tumblr @LovleyLangst!!


	5. The Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And all was well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, mainly because I didn't want a super long chapter. I wanted a brief happy chapter that would leave room for me to write a continuation if I wanted to. It may seem a little rushed but I like it.

**Six Years Years**

“Lance, stop messing with his hair he’s going to be late for his own wedding,” Keith smiled at his boyfriend of six years- now fiancé of five months- as he brushed back Scorpius Malfoy’s- soon to be Scorpius Potter- hair.

Lance pouted at Keith, “I’m making him pretty!” 

“So I wasn’t pretty before?” Scorpius teased, “I’m offended.” 

“You shush it,” Lance grinned, sliding a pin in to place. 

He stepped back, motioning for Scorpius to stand up. He looked over his work with a glee as Scorpius struck a pose. He looked more beautiful that Lance had ever seen him, and there was no doubt in his mind that Albus would be all sorts of floored. 

It had been six years since his fourth year at Hogwarts. Six years since everything with his father had gone down. His father had been arrested, however the trial had found him not guilty. His father still had money and power and that alone was enough to save him from any time in any prison. However, he was destroyed. Completely and utterly destroyed. Once he got back to Cuba he was stripped of every and all titles he once held. Even over there it was known that Harry Potter was a savior, and his father had gotten on Harry Potter’s shit list. His mama eventually divorced his father, the moment she was granted access to do so. She couldn’t handle the thought of staying married to that wicked awful man. She eventually moved to Britain to get away from the house and the town that had her worst and best memories in it. 

The Potters had welcomed the Sanchez family directly into their own clan. Harry Potter told Lance that if he ever needed anything to not hesitate to ask, and then he looked up from Lance, smiled at Lance’s siblings and reached out to offer the same to them. Everyone soon merged and soon enough the Sanchez were basically blood as well. His mama got on famously with both of the Potter parents. And everything seemed to fall into place. 

He still had bad days. Some days he woke up, with the need to curl up because he could taste the curses his father threw at him. Other days he woke up in the middle of a night with the lingering fear that someone was going to kill him. That someone was going to murder him in cold blood. He didn’t want to know where his father was now. His entire family cut contact with him after the move, and all of them were thankful for it. Even on the hard days where his older brothers called him, trying not to sound panicked, as they made sure he was alive. Or when his sisters would go for days without eating, because they just couldn’t stomach anything. Those were always the worst days in Lance’s mind. 

But it was okay. Because Lance had Kieth to hold him through his nightmares. He had his friends to help him up. And that was the best thing he could ever ask from anyone. There love and support helped him so much. So, so, much. And he was so happy for all of them.

The wedding was about to start and Lance grinned so hard his cheeks hurt. This was a moment he would cherish forever, his friends finally being able to be joined together in a bond deeper than anything. He watched Scorpius ready to walk down the aisle. He was glowing, holding the lavenders to his chest. Lance’s grin softened, as he gripped Keith’s hand. As they walked down the aisle, ready to send one of their best friend’s off, Lance knew that everything had worked out.

And all was well.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if I'll have a consistent posting schedule. Either way, hit me up on tumblr @lovelylangst!


End file.
